Spring planting progress slow

Farm and Ranch April 26, 2011 Nationally farmers only advanced spring wheat planting last week by one percent to six percent complete, well behind the five year average for now of 25 percent. Wet soil conditions are causing the delay. Much of the gain in seeding came in the Pacific Northwest, where although planting is behind normal it is much further along than elsewhere in the country. USDA’s latest crop progress report shows nothing in the ground in North Dakota, the largest spring wheat producer.

Meanwhile, the winter wheat crop ratings nationally dropped again. Here is USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey.

Rippey: “We have 35% of the crop in good to excellent condition but 40% very poor to poor condition. We see a wide variety across the nation. A week ago those numbers were 36% and 38% respectively. A year ago though 69% good to excellent, only six percent very poor to poor. If you at the individual states, nine states have at least two-thirds of the crop in good to excellent condition. Those states are California, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington State. But three-quarters of the crop is in very poor to poor shape in Oklahoma. Just three weeks ago that number was 53%. Texas 72% of the crop very poor to poor. That number has crept up from 61% three weeks ago. We also almost half the crop rated very poor to poor in Colorado at 49% and Kansas at 44%.”

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net.